Several leaders of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were placed under house arrest on November 9 to thwart their participation in the dharna and protest demonstration against the State government for not reducing the VAT on petroleum products.
In Kadapa, M. Linga Reddy and R. Sreenivasa Reddy, the TDP’s in-charges for Kadapa and Rajampet parliamentary constituencies respectively, were placed under house arrest. Policemen gathered at their respective residences ahead of their scheduled departure to the dharna venue to participate in the demonstration. They were prevented from leaving their house, even as they insisted that the act was a breach of their right to protest guaranteed by the constitution.
TDP Mydukur in-charge and TTD board former chairman Putta Sudhakar Yadav was prevented from leaving his home in Proddatur town. He wondered what was the need for his ‘house arrest’ as he was proceeding to express his resentment in a democratic manner. Even as he was surrounded by the police, Mr. Yadav shouted slogans against the State government for failing to keep his election-eve promise of reducing VAT on petroleum products. Party leaders Singa Reddy Govardhan Reddy and RIMS former Chairman Jeelani Basha were arrested in Kadapa when they were on the way to the protest site. Similarly, R. Ramesh Reddy was arrested in Lakkireddipalle, MLC B.Tech Ravi in Pulivendula and Praveen Kumar Reddy in Kadapa.
In Tirupati, the TDP leaders led by former MLA M. Sugunamma staged a demonstration at a petrol filling station on Tilak Road. In a novel protest, they garlanded the petrol dispensing unit and broke coconuts, symbolically praying to it to bring down the prices to the reach of the common man. Condemning Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for the ‘indifference’, she recalled his protest as the then opposition leader over the levy of ₹2 as Amaravati cess. “He has hiked the cess to ₹4 in spite of taking a ‘U turn’ on Amaravati as the capital”, she decried. Party corporator R.C. Munikrishna, city unit president D. Bhaskar Yadav and Telugu Mahila leader K.Pushpavathi took part.
